


Acts of Affection

by Caesara



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Asexual Severus Snape, F/M, Gay Harry Potter, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Severitus | Severus Snape is Harry Potter's Parent, Wingfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:20:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28020792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caesara/pseuds/Caesara
Summary: 5 times Severus groomed Harry’s wings and 1 time Harry groomed Severus’. A WingFic AU in which Snape Adopts Harry.
Relationships: Cedric Diggory/Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy/Pansy Parkinson
Comments: 18
Kudos: 240





	Acts of Affection

1.  
“You’re not in any trouble, Harry. I just have a few questions for you,” Madam Pomfrey said. The woman had kind eyes and spoke in a soft tone, very different from Aunt Petunia’s shrill voice.

Still, Harry shrunk away from her and wrapped his tattered wings around his side. He pressed himself farther into the headboard of the small hospital bed.

“Where’s—where’s the man who came and got me?” Harry asked, looking toward the door across the room.

“Severus? Professor Snape? He’s waiting outside. He thought you might want privacy,” she said.

“Can he come in?”

Pomfrey retrieved Severus upon request, and saw—to her amazement—the boy relax more when the man came near. It was the opposite reaction many had when seeing the dour professor.

“You requested my presence,” Severus said. His dark clothes and tall wings blocked some of the light on Harry’s face.

Harry nodded.

“Will you answer Madam Pomfrey’s questions now?”

He nodded again.

“All right, dear. We’re going to start with some questions about your physical health. Answer as much as you can and that will help us get you all better,” she said.

The questions ranged from his eating habits to his physical health. Harry was hesitant to give answers, because his aunt and uncle had always told him not to speak about them to other people. But with a bit of prodding, the adults got him to reveal more and more troubling information.

Severus had known things were bad when he had retrieved him, but he was only realizing just how unsafe the home had been for Harry. How had he survived 10 full years with those muggles? His magic had saved him no doubt.

“And what about your wings, dear? What happened to them? Did you have an accident?”

“I—I don’t think so. Are they—are they bad? Professor Snape said all people of Magic have wings.”

“Professor Snape is right, Harry. We all have wings. We’re just concerned that yours are not bigger. Longer like mine, like his. Do you see the shape?”

Both of them extended their wings outward, showing delicate and shiny feathers on each, that tapered in just the right places. Severus’ were dark with flecks of iridescent color. The mediwitch’s were smaller, but they looked light and airy in the sun-lit room.

Harry stared. He still couldn’t believe there were people out there like him. He brushed at his own wing on his shoulder, contemplating their shape.

“I don’t know if there was an accident. Mine are just like this.”

He didn’t see Severus give Pomfrey a significant look.

“Could we see them, Harry? Could you spread them out so we can see if they need healing, too?”

Hesitantly, Harry opened up his gray wings. With permission, Poppy felt some of the feathers and ran her hands down the back of them. The wings were small, patchy, and dull in color.

“They haven’t been clipped. They’re just underdeveloped,” Severus said, holding the end of Harry’s wing tip between his fingers.

He began pulling at some of the feathers, brushing them downward and smoothing them out. With expert fingers, he sorted and preened, gently tugging on some of the baby feathers that still remained loosely attached but were ready to drop.

Harry practically melted. His wings twitched in delight.

“Hasn’t anyone ever groomed you before?” Madam Pomfrey asked, already fearing she knew the answer.

“No, ma’am. My aunt didn’t like my wings so I kept them hidden all the time. I pinned them down with a shirt mostly.”

Severus gave a sharp sigh. “That would explain some of the underdevelopment. We will need to get you started on a Potions regimen at once.”

“Potions?” Harry made a face.

“Brewed by yours truly. They will be of the highest quality, of course.”

Harry sighed. He didn’t like the idea, but he would drink a thousand potions if it meant the man would keep brushing his feathers this way. He felt like he would do anything in the world.

2.  
“You idiot children,” Severus said. “Sit.”

Draco and Harry obeyed, sitting on the bench that Severus had elongated in the front of his classroom.

The boys’ hair was still slightly damp, having not completely dried from the drying charm Severus had blown over them. That was after he had doused them with a shower charm in the middle of the classroom, soaking their clothes, book bags, and potions station.

Now that the other students were gone, Severus looked over each boy carefully, having them show their hands and ankles and anything else that was exposed during the accident.

“Why aren’t you using your wand to make sure we’re okay?” Harry asked.

Draco’s feathers ruffled. “Really, Potter, don’t you know anything? It was a potion. He can’t just wave his wand at everything magic.”

“Draco. You will do well to remember that not everyone grew up in a house with magic like you,” Severus said with a disapproving look. “But Draco is right, Harry. I must first ascertain what kind of damage has been done before I add more magic on top of it.”

He gently grasped Harry’s chin turning it to the left, and then to the right, so the boy was facing Draco. He stuck out his tongue before he could help himself.

“Very mature, Potter,” Draco said.

“It seems like there’s nothing wrong with your skin. Although your wings likely took most of the explosion.”

Severus remembered the moment when he had felt more than known that something was amiss. By the time he had swopped around to their side of the class, he could see both of the boys’ wings instinctively reaching around themselves seconds before the cauldron had erupted.

Severus moved to their backs, taking in their wings, looking for any change in color, texture, or shape. They, too, looked undamaged, thank Merlin. It must have meant that the boys had added the dried Billiwig Stings before the Rose Oil and not after. So, the potion had been made volatile but not toxic.

He ran his fingers faintly over each boy’s wings as they squirmed, ready to be off and into more mischief, he assumed. They seemed unharmed.

“You are free to go, Draco. Please stop by Madam Pomfrey’s before dinner to receive her final approval.”

“Yes, Professor Snape.”

Draco hopped off the bench with a smug smile, as he stuck his tongue out at Harry.

“Real mature, Draco,” Harry said in a mocking voice.

When Draco was gone, Severus brushed at Harry’s wings.

“Why did Draco get to leave and I didn’t. Is there something wrong?”

“No,” Severus said. “I’m just checking your wings. They seem to be growing nicely. Have you been getting them groomed?”

“Groomed?”

“Groomed, preened,” Severus said, summoning a small brush. "Primped. Cleaned."

“No, sir. Not since you did that in the hospital wing before the Welcoming Feast,” Harry said, chewing his lip. He hadn’t thought to ask someone else to do it for him, and he could only reach so far.

“That was nearly two months ago,” Severus said.

The boy looked confused.

“We should get our wings groomed at least twice a month. More if you’ve been rolling around outside and flying and Merlin knows what else.”

“Oh, how do we do that?” Harry asked.

“You ask someone.”

Harry relaxed, feeling the man brush the top of his left wing. He imagined this is what a massage must feel like, although, he had never had one. Aunt Petunia occasionally got them and always came home less angry than before.

“I always see people grooming each other in the Common Room but I just thought they, I don’t know, liked to do it.”

Severus sighed, thinking of the other Muggle-born students as well. They might have been confused, but since their parents had all received the standard Magic Information Packet a year before their 11th birthday, they likely knew more than Harry.

Severus began smoothing his wings in earnest now. 

“I have 30 minutes before my next class, so I will groom them for you. It is no trouble.”

“Who grooms your wings, Professor? Someone in Slytherin?”

Severus nearly choked. 

“I do not let students near my wings, I assure you.” 

“Why not?”

“It would be…inappropriate.”

“Oh.”

“It is unusual for a person who is not family to groom an older person’s wings.”

“So, anyone can groom my wings then because I’m a first year?”

“Anyone you trust, yes. Even your peers might be of use. Do you have some people who you get along with? If not, it is your Prefects’ duty to take care of their Housemates.” 

“I don’t know. I might ask Hermione. She’s been helping me some.”

“Good.”

“Mione is muggle born too, but she reads everything. I bet she knows a lot about wing grooming.”

“I am sure she does,” Severus said, working his way over to the boy’s right wing. Like he expected Harry had been attempting to groom his outer wings on the parts he could reach. The parts closest to his back were a bit of a mess.

“You never answered, sir. Who grooms you?”

“If you must know the faculty have morning meetings every week day. Should I be in need of assistance, I would ask a fellow member of the staff.”

“Oh.” 

Harry tried to imagine Professor McGonagall grooming Professor Snape. It was weird.

“Well, what about you?” Harry asked.

“What about me?” 

“Could you—could you maybe groom my wings? If you’re not too busy?”

Severus’ hands stilled and then went back to work.

“I don’t see why not. I have plenty of office hours to fill every week, and someone needs to keep these feathers in line.”

3.  
This was the first time Harry had truly been sick since Severus had adopted him. The potions master hadn’t anticipated how distraught he would feel, knowing his ward was unwell, and there was nothing to be done besides wait for the potions to run their course.

Sitting on the side of Harry’s bed, Severus shook him awake.

“I’m sorry,” Harry said. It had been the first thing out of his mouth every time he had spoken since he had first appeared in Severus’ room in the middle of the night.

“No need to apologize. Just drink.”

Harry gathered enough strength to sip the second dose of his fever reducer before collapsing back on the bed.

“How are you feeling. Does your head ache?”

Harry shook his head.

“What about the rest of your body?”

“Just hot.”

Harry’s wings were fluttering slightly, no doubt attempting to cool him down.

Severus conjured a wash cloth and then dampened it with the end of his wand. He pressed it to Harry’s face and then his neck. Then he ran the cloth over the boy’s wing’s lightly and felt Harry’s long exhale near his leg.

“Oh, that feels—that feels good.”

“Hmm,” Severus said, knowing that it was true. Adding more water to the cloth, he gently ran it over the edge of the wing, watching the water run toward the downy feathers underneath, and disappear.

4.  
Harry swiveled the large wooden chair by the fireplace and sat on it backwards. He held his hands out toward the fireplace in front of him that Severus kept lit all year long in his quarters. The fire was a source of familiarity, as they had spent nights as a family eating, drinking, talking, and grooming in the dark, cozy living room.

“Did Draco drop by yet?” Harry asked, removing his shirt.

Severus—ever quiet on his feet—appeared by Harry with a spray bottle of his Wing Restorer and a small brush. He smoothed the top of Harry’s light wing.

“No, did he want to speak about something in particular?” 

“I guess I’ll let him bring it up,” Harry said.

He felt Severus pause behind him.

“It’s not bad or anything. I think he just wanted your advice.”

Severus made a small humming noise that made Harry know he didn’t appreciate being left in the dark, but he didn’t press further. He had learned that the boys often responded better to space than to pressure—something that was surely the result of their respective upbringings before he had adopted them.

“Minerva said you flew exceptionally well at the match,” Severus said, summoning a chair to his outstretched hand. “I was sorry to miss it for the Potions Symposium.”

“That’s all right. It was a good match. You should have seen Ron, though. I don’t think he’s ever played a better game.”

“Ah, yes, the Weasley boy. He recently had a wing growth spurt did he not?”

“Yep, they’re huge, honestly. Bigger than Fred’s and George’s, I think. Definitely bigger than mine.”

“As we know, the size of the wing is not everything,” Severus said. He knew Harry was sometimes self-conscious of how long it had taken them to grow.

The wings were ruffled and dirty from the Quidditch match, and it had been two and a half weeks since he had groomed them. Severus couldn’t have his own son walking about the castle in a disheveled state. He ran his hand under the thickest outer feathers and Harry practically melted into the chair.

“Your down feathers are coming in nicely. Just in time for colder weather.”

“That’s good to hear. It does help with the cold,” Harry said, and Severus felt the small shiver through his wings, no doubt remembering many winters without the shelter of his wings.

“Spread,” Severus instructed.

Harry let his wings out, relishing the feeling of the fire’s heat on their full front. He felt the light mist of the potion across his wingspan, as Severus applied a generous amount, particularly on the more tattered spots.

After instructing Harry to put his wings back in resting position, Severus went to work, methodically brushing, plucking, and smoothing the feathers. No one else had ever groomed Harry, so he wasn’t sure what the experience was like otherwise, but he was sure that Severus’ commitment to precision and detail meant the process was more time-consuming than most. He didn’t mind though. These were some of his favorite times with his guardian.

“You only enjoy this so much because you were once starved of affection,” Severus had said to him a few weeks ago.

Harry had thought on the matter, but he didn’t really agree. He enjoyed it so much because it was affection. Because it was Severus’ way of showing that he cared, without using any words.

5.  
Harry looked at himself in the bathroom mirror, fidgeting with his robes and attempting to flatten his hair. He straightened his glasses, wondering if he should approach Severus some time about contacts or some magical cure to eyesight. Were glasses unattractive?

Draco appeared in full dress robes behind him, grabbing his cologne from the middle shelf, spraying the air around him, and then walking through it. This must have been the third time in fifteen minutes. Harry coughed his displeasure.

“I can’t believe you’re going to the Ball with a Hufflepuff!” Draco said, wafting the cologne on to his body.

“Be quiet, Draco! No one said anything about you going with Pansy who we all know you don’t even like!”

Harry rushed out of the bathroom and into the kitchen.

“I do, too like Pansy,” Draco said, following him. “And with our families it makes sense.”

“WE are your family now, or did you forget?”

“Exactly. That’s what I meant. You’re certainly not going to be the son who marries up!”

Draco took a seat at the kitchen table, while Harry grabbed a glass from the cabinet and got himself some water.

Snape appeared in the doorway in his dress robes, which were surprisingly similar to his normal robes, only a bit more ornate, with a fuller shape and dark green trim.

“Boys, are you ready?”

“No! Harry said, sticking his hand into the cup and again patting at his head. “My hair won’t stay down.”

“You’re a barbarian, Potter.”

“Hey!” Harry said, at the same time Severus said, “That’s enough.”

He smoothed down Harry’s hair on his own, muttering a charm to flatten it. Then he turned his attention to his wings which were ruffled and nervous. Severus began smoothing them.

“Do you want shimmer? It is the most traditional.”

“Shimmer?”

Draco turned around. “You can’t see my wings shining?”

Sure enough, Draco’s dark wings were glittering.

“Uh, I suppose if it’s tradition. Are you doing it, Severus?”

Severus conjured a bottle and began applying it to Harry’s wings, patting them gently as he went.

“For whom would my wings need to shine?”

“I don’t know,” Harry said. “I mean I know you’re ace, but they could shine for, you know, just you.”

“Tell me, Harry, what about my daily appearance would make you think I would want my wings shining for me?” Snape drawled.

Harry ignored the sarcastic question. “Will everyone else have glitter?”

“The majority of students will likely choose this or some other adornment. Have you really never noticed at another ball?”

Harry couldn’t say that he did. But he had spent the last two winter balls scuttling about the edges of the Great Hall trying not to make a fool of himself. 

“Harry’s just nervous, because he wants Diggory to like his wings.”

“Shut it.”

“You do. I bet you’ll be snogging him right by the Yule fire.”

“I said shut it!”

Harry’s face was on fire, and it didn’t help when he heard the smallest hint of a chuckle from the man behind him.

“You’ll be fine, Harry,” Severus said, plucking a few loose feathers. “And your wings look charming.”

Harry gave them an experimental flap, trying to catch the way they shone. Of course, Snape’s dungeon of a home wasn't exactly the most well-lit area.

“All right, let’s go then,” Draco said standing up, with a flourish. “I have an audience to dazzle.”

6.  
Draco woke earlier than anyone on Christmas day, as usual. This year, though, he had the decency to let people sleep. Perhaps it was the maturity of being a 6th year. He called the house-elf to make breakfast, which turned out to be a full English breakfast.

He was halfway through his plate, when Severus appeared, wings and hair looking a bit ruffled from sleep.

“Happy Christmas,” Severus said, taking his seat and going for his coffee.

“Happy Christmas.”

Harry joined soon after, having been jolted awake by a piece of flying parchment, Draco’s alarm. He had, for reasons, Severus could guess, become quite a deep sleeper over his years at Hogwarts—much better than the fitful naps he used to take while housed at the Dursley’s.

After an afternoon of exchanging presents, they played wizard’s chess. Two against one, Harry and Draco stood a better chance against Severus, who, with a stoic face and, it seemed, minimal effort, still beat them both soundly. Before dinner, they took a peaceful walk around the property, bundled up in cloaks. As they walked, they said the traditional Yule blessings over the expanse of the grounds. They watched as all three of their streams of magic wove together to protect the home.

“Do you want me to use your present on you?” Harry asked, after they had flown back inside and warmed up.

Severus floated the presented over, an amber spray bottle labeled “Black Wing Elixir” in Harry’s scrawl.

“Yes, I suppose we can give it a try.”

Harry had made it specifically for Severus’ wings—a potion that would bring out the depth of the Black color, remove the lint that tended to get caught in them, and bring out their natural shine.

Severus straddled a chair by the fire, much like the position Harry usually took. He shrugged off his outer robes. Harry felt for the first time how different Severus’ wings were from his. They were smoother but the feathers overall were a bit thicker and had sharper edges.

“Did you test it?” Severus asked, a bit warily before Harry began spraying.

“Mm-hmmm, Darion Finnegan has wings like yours. He let me try it out, and I think it worked nicely.”

Harry sprayed some experimentally on the top of Severus’ wings, which twitched at the touch. He sprayed a bit more and watched as the wings fluttered.

“Uh, sorry,” Harry said.

“I am…slightly ticklish on the outermost parts of my wings. It is no matter,” Severus said. He rested his forehead on top of his arms which crossed over the back of the chair. 

Harry paused, glancing at Draco, who also looked up at the comment. Suppressing a smile, Harry continued on spraying a bit of the potion. Severus’ wings fluttered and stilled and drooped and perked up as he preened and picked and smoothed like Severus often did for him.

The only other person he had groomed had been Draco, and that had been a year ago. He had also attempted grooming Cedric, but that had not lasted long, as he found that when you groomed certain people in certain ways—well, it led to other things.

Blushing at the memory, Harry shifted his attention back to Severus’ long iridescent feathers. He seemed relaxed enough, so Harry assumed he was doing a decent job at it.

“This feels very good, Harry. Thank you,” Severus said.

“You’re welcome,” Harry said, glad that he could return this bit of affection that Severus often gave to him.


End file.
